 - Ari Burnu War Cemetery viewed from Plugge's Plateau
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The Gallipoli Peninsula, just across the Dardenelles from
the ancient and legendary city of Troy, has had a long, romantic and troubled
history. The beautiful and rugged landscape is in keeping with this history.
The Peninsula was a key site in the Peloponnesian War in the 5th century BC,
because control of the Dardenelles would determine the result of the war. The
Hellespont was also the setting for the legend of Hero, the beautiful Priestess
of Aphrodite, and Leandros, her lover, who swam and drowned in those winter seas.
The Turkish defeat of the Allied Fleet on 18 March 1915, and the subsequent battles
to capture the peninsula during 1915 permanently stamped the region with the
deep emotions of many deaths.
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 - The 'Sphinx' or Sari Bair (Yellow Slope), part of the Kocacimentepe Range, overlooks the new Anzac Commemorative Site
 
 - Views of the harbour at Çannakkale
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Standing on the mountainous ridges, a visitor can look out to
sea across Anzac Cove, North Beach and Suvla Bay and easily imagine the scene,
nearly ninety years ago, as the Allied soldiers stormed up from those beaches
to attempt to capture the heights.
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As more and more people visit the Gallipoli Peace Park
and wander through the graves and memorials of the Allied and Turkish soldiers,
some inevitable development has occurred in the region. Nevertheless, visitors
via the nearby towns of Çannakkale, Eceabat, Kilitbahir or Gelibolu find
the main battlefields almost untouched.
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 - The Sphinx looking north from Plugge's Plateau
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Bushfires and some vegetation replantings
have changed a little of the skyline and ground cover. Road-building and nearly
a century's beach erosion have changed some of the shoreline profiles. Nevertheless,
most visitors who walk on the shores and climb the ridges of the battlefields
of Gallipoli still feel the powerful pull of history. It is like stepping back
in time. On these pages are a selection of recent photographs that help capture
some of that rugged terrain.
On other pages on this website, you will find historic photographs that reveal
how little the landscape has changed since that time. This is one of the few
areas in the world where major battlefields have been preserved in this manner,
so it is of international value and significance in world history. |
 - Looking south from Plugge's Plateau Cemetery to Kabatepe, the planned landing site
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